Hurt
by TheVampireLucinda
Summary: Words can never be unheard, and feelings can never be unfelt. Sometimes we say things that we shouldn't have said, and do things that we shouldn't have done,and all we are left with are bitter regrets and lasting pain. Some hurts never go away. One shot.


**Title: **Hurt

**Author: **TheVampireLucinda

**Featuring: **The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H

**Disclaimer: **Nothing inherently slashy...Although, if you know me, it's always kinda implied...Rated T just to be safe.

**Summary: **Words can never be unheard, and feelings can never be unfelt. Sometimes we say things that we shouldn't have said, and do things that we shouldn't have done, and now, all we are left with are bitter regrets, and lasting pain. Sometimes the hurt never ever goes away. Based on the 3/28/11 RAW interaction between the Undertaker, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels.

_A/N: Hello everyone! Long time no see! (wink) It's been a busy few semesters, but I absolutely had to write something with the great story going on between the Undertaker, Triple H, and, of course, the Man, Shawn Michaels. I was going to wait until after 'Mania to put this up, but then, thanks to BellaHickenbottom, I've decided I might as well put it up now. After all, those three have left us all in some heavy suspense!_

_Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! This came out a bit more vague and flow-y (or, disjointed) than I had planned...but, I hope you all like it anyway, my Dear Readers. It's a bit depressing for my tastes, but...we'll see. (smile) _

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><p>The audience had gone wild.<p>

He stood across the ring looking at the two men opposite him, feeling a sharp twinge in his chest as the scene before him began to unfold.

The smaller of the two, the man with golden-brown hair and sky-blue eyes, was heaping words of praise upon the two Wrestlemania opponents. He had entered the ring with a skip, hop and a jump—as he always did—and with barely a glance in either man's direction.

The other, tough as nails with hair like sunlight, had a slight smirk on his face, which, for all the seriousness of the situation, he could not truly get rid of; nor could he hide the obvious joy in his brown eyes at the surprise appearance and antics of the other man.

Oh, but he knew the two men across from him well. He knew that, buried within all of Shawn's praise, his kind words, his quick smile, there was a slight, subtle, but oh-so-scathing message in all of it. He could read in Hunter's smile the quiet triumph and supreme confidence, bestowed upon him by Shawn Michaels.

For all the respect that the Heartbreak Kid had for the Deadman, for as many accomplishments as he listed under the Phenom's name...He reserved his greatest praise for Triple H. For the Game.

For his best friend.

Everyone knew and agreed that Shawn Michaels was the best; and the man that _he_ names the best...Well, it went without saying that the man that Shawn chose was pretty damn fortunate.

And, looking at the two men across the ring, at HBK and HHH, he knew that he wasn't the one that Shawn had chosen.

It wasn't even a matter of respect anymore. and that is why, when his green eyes fell on Shawn, when Shawn at last turned and spoke to him, and he realized that Shawn _wasn't even speaking to him_, but to Hunter, he had to look away.

It hurt so much to be ignored.

Swallowing his hurt and sadness, the Undertaker snatched the microphone out of Shawn's strong hands and locked eyes with the Game.

He could deal with his pain later; he could deal with _Shawn_ later. In fact, no, he had already _dealt_ with Shawn. Now was the time to focus on the Game, on Triple H, on the problem facing him in just 6 days. It was time to burst the 'King of King's' little bubble. To hell with Shawn Michaels.

'I don't give a damn what he thinks.'

Somehow that didn't make the anguish go away.

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><p>He stared angrily at the tall, shadowy man in front of him, hearing his cold words echo over and over in his mind, feeling his happy mode deflate more quickly than his pride.<p>

"What I see is a man I humbled. What I see is a man who will soon go into the Hall of Fame full of regrets. What I see is a man whose career _I ended_."

His emotions were stuck somewhere between fury and misery. He want to yell; he wanted to cry; he wanted to kick the Undertaker's teeth down his throat and then sink into the floor, never to return.

Because, in a way, everything the Deadman said was true.

He had been so sure, exactly one year ago, that he could beat the Undertaker. He had been willing to sacrifice, his health, his relationship with Hunter, and even, in the end, his career, he had been so confident.

And, in the end, he had lost.

To call it "regret" would be a gross understatement.

It was something more akin to full-on heart-piercing soul-crushing _remorse_.

'How could I have lost to _him_?'

He looked angrily at the Undertaker, listening to his words, standing passively as the Phenom berated him with words that hurt more than the Deadman would ever know.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Shawn wondered when their relationship had soured. Hadn't they been all about mutual respect? Hadn't they at last drawn the line between rivalry and hatred?

But by the time the Undertaker had shoved him back, driving the mic hard into his chest, he couldn't care less.

The only thing he wanted was revenge.

Standing in a corner of the ring, Shawn looked up at the Undertaker with pure fury in his eyes.

'I'll show him regret,' he thought viciously, blue orbs narrowing to slits, expression hardening. In the very edges of his vision, he saw Hunter flinch, well acquainted with the signs of the Heartbreak Kid's oncoming wrath.

However, it was in that moment that Shawn realized that the Undertaker wasn't even _looking_ at him. The Deadman was focuses on Triple H, and Shawn was...an afterthought. It was as though he didn't even matter. Insignificant. Something already taken care of and done with.

That hurt worst of all, and his rage at last overtook his control.

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><p>"Shawn! Look at me!"<p>

A fight between the two legends had almost broken out, but he had put an end to it.

And in front of the thousands—millions—of fans, he has asked the man he cared about most in the whole world to assure everyone—the audience, the Undertaker, and, yes, he admitted, even himself—that he would beat the Deadman at Wrestlemania.

Instead of an answer, the only response he received from the Heartbreak Kid was a deafening silence.

Previously, he had never truly understood how silence could be deafening.

But now he did.

Turning full around, he was met with those familiar blue eyes—tinged with sadness, and some deeper emotion akin to distress—and, after several tense seconds, Shawn's _back_ as he climbed quickly out of the ring and began to walk away.

Leaving him.

"Shawn, look at me!"

Uncharacteristically subdued and obedient, his best friend turned to him. Their eyes locked, and, feeling dread pierce his very core, he stared at the man who had _literally_ turned his back on him and walked away.

Twice.

And even though he couldn't hear Shawn's voice over the noise of the crowd, he could read his lips well enough to feel the words tear right into his heart.

"You can't win. I'm sorry...You can't win."

Though known for his stoicism, he couldn't hide his pain when Shawn said that.

'So, even _you_ don't believe in me.'

Against his will, his brown eyes widened slightly, and even his jaw dropped a little. Eventually, the white area around the brown began to turn pink, and, firmly closing his mouth, he nodded.

'You never believed in me, did you?'

He stared out at Shawn's quickly retreating figure, watching with a grimace as his best friend left the arena without a backwards glance. Thoughts he had long since buried and even erased returned full force and with such potency that he wanted to scream them aloud.

'I don't need you anyway! I never needed you, and at Wrestlemania, I'm going to prove it!'

He took a moment to compose himself; for the sake of the crowd, for the sake of his pride, he was going to have to hide his pain.

He turned to the Undertaker, who was looking at him with an unreadable expression. Their eyes met, and then the usually stoic Deadman smirked and seemed ready to burst out _laughing_ at his heartbreak.

'Fuck you,' he thought, aching down to the depths of his soul, watching the Deadman go up the same path Shawn had gone. 'This is your fault...' He could feel the lump growing in his throat as he stood there. 'Last year, when Shawn broke up DX, it was your fault; and now, you're making him doubt me...It's all your fault...'

Betrayal. Abandonment. _Again_.

Still staring out after the Undertaker, Hunter felt tears touch the corners of his eyes, the agony at last overflowing his control.

'_I. Hate. You_.'

Twice did the Undertaker turn back to look at him, and not once was his expression triumphant. The man didn't even seem all that pleased with the way things had played out.

In fact, if one could have looked closely into the Undertaker's shadow-hidden expression at that moment, the only emotion he displayed was hurt; the same hurt mirrored on Hunter's heartbroken face in the ring, and the same hurt that filled Shawn's tear-streaked eyes in the parking lot.

The audience had gone silent.

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><p><em>Poor guys...I hope it works out for them...<em>

_Review?_


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